A while back I put up a post about a community outreach project which our journalism volunteer group did. We were helping Davaajargal Makhal, a doctor and single mother, to expand her charity by setting her up with email, Facebook, Twitter, a donation page, a logo, and by making a documentary detailing the hard lives of single mothers with disabled children in Ulaanbaatar, which we screened in the city centre last month. At the event, we also made felt shoes and seat cushions to donate to the children’s daycare centre which Davaa runs entirely out of her own salary. On International Women’s Day, we headed out to the ger district to witness for ourselves the difficult circumstances faced by the single mothers and their families. Here we also visited the daycare centre to meet the staff and children, and to carry out filming for our documentary:
In the Bavangol district alone there are 480 disabled children, 70% of whom live in underprivileged areas with no heating or water system. Of these 480 children, 50% have Cerebral Palsy. Caring for their children’s complex needs places an unrelenting strain on parents, who risk losing their minuscule $21 per month allowance if they go out to work.
The four main aims of the Child Smile Foundation are:
1 – To increase public awareness of the problems faced by single mothers and their disabled children.
2 – To expand the daycare centre and supply it with the appropriate equipment and machines to help the disabled children.
3 – To equip parents with better knowledge of their child’s disability, and also to equip them with the skills needed to gain employment.
4 – To carry out further research and analysis into disabilities such as Cerebral Palsy.
I know that even a single pound would make a huge difference to the very sad lives of the single mothers and their families. If anyone would like to donate, please contact Davaa at thechildsmilefoundation@outlook.com
Blue-Sky Thinking 